Numerous families of the victims of the Crans-Montana fire and also, for the first time, some of the injured are attending, in a classroom at the Polytechnic University of Sion, the questioning of Jacques Moretti, owner of the Constellation disco bar and the main suspect, together with his wife Jessica, in the fire at the venue , in which 41 people died and 115 were injured.
The hearing began at around 9am. To avoid the cameras and journalists, the entrepreneur - according to what has been learned - arrived shortly after 7am.
Moretti is under arrest, accused of beating his wife. A confrontation between the two was expected today, but after the domestic violence incident, the Vallese prosecutor's office decided to interview only the man.
Over one hundred people are present in the hearing room, including investigators, lawyers, and civil parties.
And just in the last few hours, fearing a sham reimbursement, the victims' parents have asked the government of the Canton of Valais to place the ski resort's finances under special administration. Its administrators and officials, starting with Mayor Nicolas Féraud, are under investigation for arson, aggravated assault, and manslaughter.
Presented by Sion lawyer Sébastien Fanti, the petition calls for "financial and administrative oversight" of public coffers, to "ensure that the municipality is prepared for all possible outcomes."
Milanese lawyers Alfredo Zampogna and Vinicio Mardo, representing the parents of Chiara Costanza, the 16-year-old who died in the fire, have the same concern, but directed at Jacques Moretti. They have asked the cantonal prosecutor's office to investigate the Corsican entrepreneur's bank transactions, given that "no assets or assets currently appear to be secured for compensation," Zampogna and Mardo write.
The response to the request for a special administration came quickly: the government of the Canton of Valais is unwilling to pay the debts of the Municipality of Crans-Montana and is therefore holding off on the idea of appointing a special administration. The cantonal government believes it is "too early to take a position on the matter," specifying that "the municipalities are responsible for their own financial management and are responsible for remedying any potential deficits."
(Unioneonline)